Improvement in potato-diggers



S. B. CONOVER.

Potato-Digger.

Patented Jan. 5, 1864.

Witnesses= lnventon AM. PHDTD-LITHO. C0. N,Y. (OSBORNE'S PROCESS.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

STEPHEN B. CONOVER, 0F NE? YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN POTAT O-DIGGERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4!.058, dated January 5, 1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, S. B. CoNovER, of the city, county, and State of New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Potato Digger; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact deseriptionof the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a side view of my invention; Fig.

2, a side sectional view of the same, taken in the line a: m, Fig. 3; Fig. 3,21. plan or top view of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists in the employment or use of a rotary spiral elevator or conveyer, in connection with a vibrating screen and a scoop or plow, all arranged and applied to a mounted frame as hereinafter described, so that the potatoes as the machine is drawn along will be plowed up from or out of the hills or drills separated from the earth, weeds, and trash plowed up with them, and deposited in suitable receptacles prepared to receive them.

The invention also consists in a novel means employed for discharging the potatoes from the boxes or receptacles into which they are deposited after being dug up and screened.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a frame, which is constructed of two parallel bars, a a, connected at their front ends by two cross-bars, I), and at their back ends by a cross-bar, c, the ends of which are attached to inclined bars d, secured to the bars a a. This frame A is mounted on two wheels, B B, which are placed loosely on an axle,0,which is permanently and transversely attached to the frame A, and is of curved form between the bars a. a of said frame.

To the front end of the frame A there is attached a plow or scoop, D, which has a central projecting share or point, e, and has its back part, f, curved in the form of a semi-cylinder.

E is a shaft, which is placed longitudinally in the frame A, the front end of said shaft having its bearing in the inner cross-bar, b, and the back end having its bearing in the crossbar 0, and as the latter is elevated, in consequence of being attached to the inclined bars (I, the shaft E will have an inclined position, as shown clearly in Fig. 2. The shaft E has arms g, fitted transversely in it, to which spiral blades h h are attached, which extend nearly the whole length of shaft E. The arms 9 are all of equal length, and are fitted in the shaft E so that every alternate arm will be at right angles to the intermediate ones.

F represents a semi-cylindrical screen, which is suspended from the shaft E near its ends, and is allowed to swing freely thereon. The spiral blades h of the shaft E work in this screen F, the sides of the latter extending up to the level of the shaft E. The screen F is not of an equal degree of fineness throughout, the greater part of it, extending from its front end to a point, i, being finer than the other part, which is subdivided into two parts, j k, the former, j bein g coarser than '5, and lccoarser thanj (See Figs. 2 and 3. The shaft E and blades h have a rotary motion communicated to them by a belt or chain, 1, from a shaft, G, the latter being at one side of the frame A and rotated by gears m from the wheel B.- (See Fig. 3.)

H is a frame, the front end of which is supported by caster-wheels I I. The back end of this frame is connected by pivots or bolts a with the frame A, and this connection admits of the front end of the frame A being raised and lowered, which is accomplished by having the front end of frame A connected by chains 0 0 to part pulleys p p on a shaft, J, on the frame H, said shaft having alever, K, attached to it,which is retained at different points of its movement by a segment-rack, L. By this arrangement the plow or scoop D may be elevated and raised free from the ground when desired.

To the back part of the frame A,and underneath the screen F, there is attached a box, M, which is divided into two compartments, 1: o, by a partition, 20. The compartment 1; is under the part j of the screen, and the compartment o under the part 70. These compartments are provided respectively with hinged bottoms a a, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and the bottoms are connected at one end by cords or chains 1) to opposite ends of a bar, N,which is attached by a pivot, c, to a spring-bar, 0,

secured to one side of the frame A. This spring-bar O has a tendency to keep the bottoms a a of the compartments 2: o ina closed state, and either bottom may be lowered so as to discharge the contents of its compartment by operating the bar N. For instance, to lower the bottom a" of the compartment is, the upperend of the bar N is forced or pressed backward; and to lower the bottom a of the compartment j the lower end of the bar N is forced or pressed backward. This forms a very simple arrangement for operating the bottoms a a.

The digging operation is as follows: As the machine is drawn along the plow or scoop D runs underneath the potatoes in the hills or drills, and thepotatoes, with the earth, pass up into the screen F, which has a vibrating movement given it by means of a pitman, P, one end of which is attached to a wrist-pin, d, on a pulley, c, on shaft G, and the opposite end attached to a crank or arm, f, at the lower part of the back end of the screen. The spiral blades h h as they rotate carry up the potatoes to the parts j 70 of the screen, through which they pass into the compartments '0 o, the former receiving the small and the latter the large potatoes. The earth passes through the fine part of the screen, and the weeds are discharged from the back end of the same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The rotary conveycr formed of the shaft E and spiral blades h, (one or more,) in combination with the semi -cylindrical vibrating screen F, the above parts being placed within an adjustable frame A, and all arranged to operate as and for the purpose specified.

2. The spring or elastic bar 0, with bar N attached, and the latter connected by cords or chains b to the hinged bottoms a a, as and for the purpose set forth.

STEPHEN B. OONOVER.

Witnesses:

D. ROBERTSON, GEO. W. REED. 

